NOVEL NEXT Chapter 41
The spring rice at home must be prepared for storage.
The millet that was dried last month was dried in the yard by Mrs. Chen today because she was busy opening a new store and had no time to sort it.
Today is the holiday. Xiaodouzi does not have to go to the academy. She takes her brother and sister to the fields to water vegetables. Ajiao is squatting on the edge of the field chasing dragonflies and playing, while her brother is skillfully fertilizing and watering.
At this time, back in the yard, Mrs. Chen and Xiaodouzi took out the wind mill and prepared to start sifting the millet.
She poured the millet into the feeding funnel, and Xiaodouzi turned the manual knob. Under the influence of wind, sand, husks and unfull millet are blown out through the wind passage, while the full-quality millet slides out from the discharge port and falls into the receiving bamboo basket.
The beans are shaking happily, the chaff is flying, and the yard is filled with the fragrance of rice.
Millet is yellow, so choose and hide it.
Chen sifted out the seeds to be stored for the winter from the basket.
Thanks to Lu Da's skillful hands, this wooden wind mill was made. In previous years, the Chen couple used a dustpan to sift the millet bit by bit with their hands. The effect is extraordinary.
Xiaodouzi swept up the chaff on the ground, put it in a bag, and took some to feed the chickens and ducks at home.
After the ducks were full, Xiaodouzi took his sister Ajiao and drove them to swim in the ditch beside the field.
There are several large rocks in the middle of the ditch. The duck dives its head into the water and rubs its beak against the stone wall.
"Brother, look, the duck is washing the stones!" Ajiao shouted, excitedly picking up a few pebbles and throwing them into the water.
Several ducks were frightened and crawled out of the water, stood on the rocks and cleaned their wings with their beaks.
Perhaps because the duck was too leisurely on the shore, the naughty Ajiao picked up the bamboo whip and drove the duck into the water again.
"Brother, I want to eat the salted duck eggs pickled by grandma!"
"I think grandma made a jar of pickles a month ago. I'll steal two out tonight to see if they can be eaten?" Xiaodouzi suggested.
"Okay! Okay!" Ajiao danced happily, "Brother, let's play in the mud."
Xiaodouzi drove the duck back into the shed. Just as he was about to close the door, a duck came out. Xiaodouzi chased after him with a bamboo whip. The duck flew away, quacking all the way.
Just as he was about to catch up, the duck flew into his own rice field again. The second-season rice was still growing. Xiaodouzi was on the ridge of the field, waving his bamboo whip and shouting: "Zhuqu, Zhuqu."
The duck was caught by him on the ridge of the field, and then flew towards the back mountain.
Xiaodouzi chased him all the way, and was led by the duck to a desolate back mountain. There was a ruined temple in front of him. The duck stopped, stared at Xiaodouzi sideways, and then ran back and rushed behind Xiaodouzi.
Xiaodouzi remembered that the scholar he rescued last time said that he saw a ghost in the ruined temple in the back mountain and ran away in fear. Little did he know that the duck could run faster than Xiaodouzi and took him out of the back mountain and back to Liujia Village. .
The duck was driven back to the shed, and sister Ajiao was already playing in the mud by the ditch in the rice field.
She dipped some water into the mud, kneaded it into a small ball in her hands, then grabbed some sand and covered it with the mud. The ball grew bigger and bigger as she kneaded it. She judged that the ball was too dry based on the feel, so she added some more water and pressed it in her palms. Press.
"Amei, how many balls have you made?" Xiaodouzi stepped forward and asked?
"Brother, I just made one."
Seeing this, Xiaodouzi grabbed a handful of mud and made two mud balls in one breath, with muddy water still on his hands.
"Mei, let's go bowling."
Ajiao followed Xiaodouzi with a clay ball. They found a small soil slope, and Xiaodouzi dug a slide from the top to the bottom of the slope.
He pressed the ball in his palm, picked up the mud ball and released it from the top of the slope. The mud ball rolled down the slide and broke when it reached the bottom of the slope.
Ajiao also placed the clay ball she made on the top of the slope. When the ball rolled to the bottom of the slope, it was intact.
"My ball didn't break!" Ajiao cheered happily.
Xiaodouzi put another mud ball up the slope, rolled it down, and hit Ajiao's mud ball.
Xiaodouzi's clay ball was not broken, but Ajiao's was broken.
"Mei, I win!"
"One more game!" Ajiao turned around and went to the ditch to make clay balls again.
"Xiaodouzi, Ajiao, it's time for dinner!" Mrs. Chen shouted at the door, urging the brother and sister to go home for dinner.
After dinner, Mrs. Chen told Xiaodouzi to study at home in the evening and teach her sister how to write, then went to Lihua Town to help cook.
At the time of Xu, when everyone had not returned, the brother and sister burned up the lamp to practice calligraphy.
After practicing calligraphy for only two-quarters of an hour, Ajiao couldn't sit still: "Brother, I want to eat salted duck eggs. Grandma is not at home. Can we take two out to eat?"
As soon as his sister said it, Xiaodouzi's little greedy mind was drawn out and he had no intention of studying.
"Okay, I'll get it right now." Xiaodouzi found the tank where the salted duck eggs were stored, took out two salted duck eggs, washed them with water, peeled the shells, and ate them one bite at a time with his sister.
The eggs are golden yellow, pickled with oil, and have a sweet taste in your mouth.
The two of them were secretly tasting it when A Niang and the others came back.
Seeing the two little children eating the salted duck eggs she had pickled, and their hands still full of egg yolk runny, Mrs. Chen stepped forward, put the almost eaten salted duck eggs on the table, and took them to wash their hands.
"Are you hungry? If you want to eat, tell me, why are you eating secretly?"
"Auntie, aren't you angry?" Xiaodouzi asked with her round eyes open.
Mrs. Chen smiled and continued to get a ladle of water from the water tank for the two of them to wash their hands.
"Salted duck eggs should be served with porridge. Are you hungry? Auntie will cook porridge for you."
After a busy day at Liuxiang Snacks, Shui Xi and Lou Laner collapsed on their chairs when they heard that Mrs. Chen was about to cook porridge.
"Mom, cook more, we're hungry too!" After saying that, he looked at Lou Lan'er.
"Ah Shu, what you said made me a little hungry." Lou Laner smelled the scent of salted egg yolk.
Mrs. Chen cooked a pot of white porridge, took out a few salted duck eggs from the vat, peeled them one by one and put them in a bowl.
I took some dried radish that I had pickled myself, beat two eggs, and simply made a plate of scrambled eggs with dried radish.
The white porridge is served with salted egg yolk and preserved vegetable scrambled eggs.
The simpler, the happier! The whole family had a great time eating.
"Xiaodouzi, did you teach your sister how to write today?" Mrs. Chen asked Xiaodouzi.
"Yeah! Today I taught my sister how to write 'human, big, and heaven'" Xiaodouzi nodded.
"Are you two good at home today?" Shui Xi looked at the two brothers and sisters. She was really worried about leaving these two troublemakers at home alone.
"Today we played with mud and made mud balls! Haha..." Ajiao said with a smile, and there was a grain of rice on the edge of the pear vortex.
"Aniang, do you want to send Amei to study?" Shui Xi asked Chen.
"Let her wait until she is older and let her play for a few more years. If she is sent to Su Xuexue's house too early, I'm afraid she will pull out all the vegetables in his yard!"
"The academy only accepts students after they are eight years old. What if they are sent to be a little book boy?" Shui Xi thought, there was no nursery school in ancient times. Aniang and she were busy in the store, and Ajiao was very active. I'm really afraid that if I don't pay attention one day, she will go out to play outside the store and disappear.
"Ah Jiao, when you are with grandma in the store from now on, you are not allowed to wander around in front of the store. You have to tell grandma and sister where you want to play, you know?" Ms. Chen warned.
"Yeah! Mom, the salted duck eggs are so delicious!"
"Sister, I was chasing ducks today, and one of them flew out. I chased it to the back mountain and saw the haunted and ruined temple that Zhang Xiucai said!" Xiaodouzi told her today's anecdotes.
"Don't go there by yourself if it's okay, it's too dangerous, you know?" Shu Xi warned.
"Brother, is this ruined temple fun? Can you take me there next time?" Ajiao said excitedly. She likes to explore the back mountains, but her brother and sister won't take her!